New JDA/Centiro Study Reveals More Than a Third of Christmas ‘Click & Collect’ Shoppers Experienced Issues with Their Orders

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Around three-quarters of Brits online would switch to shopping with
an alternative retailer next Christmas as a result of a poor online
Christmas shopping experience

BRACKNELL, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–More than a third (36%) of Christmas ‘Click & Collect’ shoppers
encountered issues with their ‘Click & Collect’ orders, according to the
second annual JDA/Centiro
Christmas Customer Pulse report (conducted online by YouGov) (tweet
this). Of those that encountered any of the issues listed, not
having a dedicated area in-store for ‘Click & Collect’ purchases (31%),
long waiting times due to lack of in-store staff (31%) and staff being
unable to / taking a long time to locate items in-store (24%) were cited
as the primary reasons that potentially had a negative impact on
Christmas ‘Click & Collect’ customers’ shopping experience (tweet
this).

Overall, problems with online orders continued to impact retailers over
the festive period, with 33% of online Christmas shoppers stating they
had experienced issues with their purchases (an increase from 31% the
previous year*) (tweet
this). Of those shoppers that had encountered any of the problems
listed, 48% had suffered from late deliveries or never received their
goods; a further 48% had suffered from missed deliveries, including when
they were at home. Unsurprisingly, more than three-quarters (77%) of
Brits online said they would be likely to switch to shopping with an
alternative retailer next Christmas as a result of a poor online
Christmas shopping experience (tweet
this).

“While online retail continues to see unprecedented growth in the UK,
Christmas shoppers continued to be plagued with problems concerning
their online orders. While issues with home deliveries are nothing new,
more worrying for many retailers is that this Christmas exposed cracks
in their ‘Click & Collect’ operations,” said Jason Shorrock, vice
president of retail strategy at JDA. “Shoppers are showing a growing
preference for ‘Click & Collect’ as it offers them the convenience they
crave and it is vital that retailers get it right. However, without the
effective management of staff, stores and inventory, retailers risk
damaging customer relationships. Ironically, at a time when the online
channel continues to grow, the in-store experience is becoming ever more
important. As the survey findings show, today’s online customer has no
qualms about taking their business elsewhere if retailers don’t meet
their expectations.”

Despite problems, ‘Click & Collect’ continues to grow in popularity

Despite the perceived issues, the research highlighted that a growing
number (41%) of online Christmas shoppers opted to use ‘Click & Collect’
services this Christmas compared to 2014 (39%*) (tweet
this). Furthermore, of those respondents that used ‘Click & Collect’
services this Christmas, nearly 1 in 4 (24%) said they would use ‘Click
& Collect’ more next Christmas, 56% said they used Click & Collect to
avoid delivery charges, while 49% said it was more convenient than home
delivery (tweet
this). A quarter of online Christmas shoppers (25%) said they chose
to shop specifically with a retailer that offered ‘Click & Collect’ over
one that solely offered home delivery (tweet
this).

Product availability and ordering deadlines

Product availability also dictated online Christmas shoppers buying
behaviour – 12% of online Christmas shoppers said they shopped with an
alternative retailer, as a result of their preferred one not having the
items they needed online (tweet
this). A further 9% said they shopped with an alternative retailer,
as their preferred one didn’t have delivery times that suited them. The
online research also revealed that nearly a quarter (23%) of online
Christmas shoppers ordered items earlier than planned, as a result of
ordering deadlines mandated by retailers. Interestingly, nearly a fifth
(19%) said that Christmas ordering deadlines meant they shopped in-store
as opposed to online (tweet
this).

“Today’s online customer is now demanding shorter order-to-delivery
windows, and greater choice over where and when goods are delivered. For
retailers, this means ensuring they have full visibility over their
inventory and their delivery networks. In the lead up to Christmas, many
retailers added much more delivery capacity to deal with spikes in
demand, but it is clear customer expectations still aren’t being met. It
is also evident that retailers need greater insight into their carrier
networks so they can offer more flexible and convenient delivery
options,” said Niklas Hedin, CEO of Centiro.

Impact of Christmas sales events

Over the last few years, online sales events such as Black Friday and
Cyber Monday have grown in popularity. Indeed, the research highlighted
that 49% of online Christmas shoppers did at least some of their online
Christmas shopping during sales events (tweet
this). Of those respondents, 10% said not all the items in their
basket were still available by the time they reached the online
checkout; while 8% said they didn’t want an item once it was received,
so they returned it (tweet
this).

“The anecdotal evidence is that retailers coped a lot better when it
came to pre-Christmas sales events this year, as they were able to
spread demand over a week rather than single day. However, such events
do encourage ‘impulse buying’ that has an impact on product availability
and growing return volumes. These issues continue to pose questions of
retailers’ supply chains, and will ultimately dictate if they had a
successful Christmas and a profitable New Year,” added Shorrock.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample
size was 2,008 adults in 2015 and fieldwork was undertaken between 29th
– 30th December 2015. Total sample size was 2,398 adults in 2014 and
fieldwork was undertaken between 29th – 30th
December 2014. The surveys were carried out online. The figures have
been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). The
research was commissioned by JDA.

At JDA, we’re fearless leaders. We’re the leading provider of
end-to-end, integrated retail, omni-channel and supply chain planning
and execution solutions for more than 4,000 customers worldwide. Our
unique solutions empower our clients to reduce costs, increase
profitability and improve collaboration so they can deliver on their
customer promises every time. Using JDA, you can plan to deliver. www.jda.com

About Centiro

Founded in 1998, Centiro is a leading innovator in cloud-based
transportation, logistics and delivery management solutions. Today,
Centiro’s products are used by companies in over 105 countries and the
company is also listed as a Great Place to Work®. For further
information, please visit www.centiro.com.

“JDA” is a trademark or registered trademark of JDA Software Group, Inc.
Any trade, product or service name referenced in this document using the
name “JDA” is a trademark and/or property of JDA Software Group, Inc.